Lipton milk powder withdrawn after detection of chemical

Hong Kong, Sep 30 (DPA) Lipton milk tea powder was withdrawn Tuesday from sale in Hong Kong after traces of a chemical tainting dairy products from China were found in it.The powder’s manufacturer, Lipton Hong Kong, announced that melamine had been found in China-made Lipton Milk Tea Powder Original and Lipton Milk Tea Powder Gold, which come in sachets. Other Lipton products were not affected.

A spokesman for the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety, which has been testing products imported from China, said Unilever Plc, which owns the Lipton brand, had found melamine through its own internal quality checks.

“We appeal to the public to stop drinking the products concerned,” he said, adding outlets selling the products have been alerted and ordered to stop selling them.

The discovery of contaminated Lipton tea powder came a day after British chocolate maker Cadbury Plc recalled 11 chocolate bars made at its Beijing plant and sold in Hong Kong as a precautionary measure.

More than 50 percent of dairy products in Hong Kong come from mainland China, where four infants have died and tens of thousands have been hospitalised as a result of drinking contaminated milk products.

Five children have so far been treated for kidney stones in Hong Kong after consuming contaminated products from mainland China since the scandal broke earlier this month.

Melamine is used to produce plastics and fertilisers. It was added to Chinese milk to boost protein levels.